The UK is losing the fight against internet crime

MPs are claiming that the UK is one of the world’s most targeted countries for internet crime. They have suggested, in order to overcome this we will have to spend much more on reporting and defending ourselves against this increasing problem.

Offences range from attacks on computer networks and the use of viruses to steal personal data to facilitate traditional crimes such as forgery.

One of the bigger issues with e-crime is that most of the smaller internet crimes don’t get reported, with many cases of minor hacks and thefts not being submitted. The Home Affairs Committee say that they would like to see banks being forced to report all cases of internet fraud to the police and have internet service providers educate users in online security tools.

Currently, the UK employs 800 officers who specialise specifically in digital crime detection, however almost a quarter of these employees could face losing their jobs due to budget cuts. It is said that around 1,300 criminal gangs that specialise in fraud are currently targeting the UK’s internet users, and the committee think we should be spending more on specially trained police and defences to fight this.